


Misinterpretation

by ThermidorValkyrie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25498504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThermidorValkyrie/pseuds/ThermidorValkyrie
Summary: Sif makes some incorrect assumptions about the nature of Thor and Loki's relationship.
Relationships: Loki/Thor (Marvel)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 142





	Misinterpretation

The multicolored light of the Bifrost sparkled rapidly out of existence as Sif felt the rocky surface of Alfheim solidify beneath her feet. She glanced to her left. The Warriors Three – grim Hogun clad in blue, blond Fandral swathed in unseasonable furs, and strong Volstagg with his russet beard – were silhouetted against the bright summer sky. Good. They had made it safely across the rainbow bridge as well. Better yet, this was indisputably Alfheim. Broken, mountainous terrain, eagles wheeling in the cloudless heavens – the realm of the Light Elves was stark and beautiful. Sif turned her gaze to the right. Her final two companions had succeeded in crossing from Asgard as well. Thor, the Crown Prince of their people, with his golden locks and crimson cloak flowing in the brisk breeze, hefted the hammer Mjolnir experimentally. Odin had only granted it to him a fortnight ago, and he was still learning to master the mystical weapon. Sif hoped he would make good use of it in the battle to come.

The last member of their small band stood behind Thor, on the extreme edge of the group. Loki. Sif’s lips curled in a scowl as her eyes settled on Asgard’s dark prince. Shorter and slighter than his brother, Loki bore no weapons, or none that were visible, at any rate. It was difficult for Sif to believe the God of Mischief shared the same parents as his brother. Loki’s hair was black where Thor’s was fair, his skin was sallow where the other man’s was ruddy. As always, the Silvertongue wore black leather under a black mantle trimmed in green. Sif had always taken Loki’s refusal to wear conventional armor as a sign of arrogance. The Warriors Three, Sif herself, and even Thor had all donned layers of chain and plate mail in preparation for the coming skirmish. Loki alone seemed confident the enemy would be unable to touch him. Then again, Sif realized with a pang of fury, the Lie Smith’s hubris was justified. How many times had the Asgardian forces returned from battle with the Jotuns or the Dark Elves, bleeding and broken, Loki alone uninjured? Sif ground her teeth and looked away.

“So where are these trolls that Heimdall claims to have seen?” Thor proclaimed, striding about in a wide circle. “I came to this land expecting bloodshed. Yet, I find no foes against whom I may test my might!”

“They are here, my prince,” Hogun replied. “Heimdall’s eyes are farseeing, and his heart is true. He knows what he has seen, and he does not lie.”

“How right you are, Hogun,” Fandral added merrily. “Worry not, my friend. We will find the trolls.”

Volstagg grinned, staring dreamily off into the distance. “And perhaps the Elves will reward us with a feast!”

Thor laughed. “Can you think of something besides your stomach for once, stout Volstagg! Come, let us mount yonder ridge. Perhaps the height will afford us a view of our prey!”

With a shout of joy, Thor leapt into the air and flew towards the crest of rock he had indicated. It was about three hundred yards distant, and fifty yards above their current elevation. With his hammer thrust out before him as he hurtled through the air, Thor reached the ridge in moments. Sighing in exasperation, Loki snapped his long fingers and disappeared. An instant later, he rematerialized beside his brother. Sif glared at the princes’ distant figures. She deeply distrusted Loki’s magic, especially his power of teleportation. Balling her fists, she began the trek up the rock face, the Warriors Three lagging behind her.

When at last they had all reached the top of the ridge, Sif looked down into the narrow valley that extended before them. It was perhaps a hundred yards across steep, treacherous terrain to the valley floor. There, horned cattle grazed on a lush carpet of grass. Quaint vegetable gardens enclosed a hamlet of twenty-odd homes made of stone and thatch. As she watched, a dozen trolls lumbered between those homes, smashing walls and sending elven families fleeing down the valley.

“For Asgard!” Thor shouted, leaping into the air once more. Sif looked on in amazement as the God of Thunder flew towards the trolls. Faster than the monsters could turn to face their attacker, Thor soared over his first victim, Mjolnir cleanly taking off the troll’s head. Thor tumbled to the earth as the dead troll’s decapitated body collapsed to the ground. “Who’s next?” he cried as the remaining trolls rushed him.

“Ah, my brother,” Loki lamented sarcastically. “He never looks before he leaps.” Before the Trickster’s words had faded from the summer breeze, he himself had disappeared once again, only to reappear behind the trolls down in the valley. Sif’s enhanced Asgardian sight permitted her to watch as, with a slight flick of his elegant wrists, Loki sent a salvo of enchanted daggers towards Thor’s assailants. The weapons struck a troll in the back, dropping him instantly. Loki smirked. Sif scowled, and gestured to the Warriors Three.

“Forward, you men!” she screamed. “For Asgard!”

Shrieking battle cries, the four of them raced down the rocky slope. By the time they reached the valley floor, Loki had already felled another troll and Thor two more. Sif sprinted forward, drawing her sword. As a troll turned from the two brothers to engage her, she hurled the blade upwards in an abbreviated arc where it lodged in the troll’s thick, bulbous throat. The creature sputtered incoherently, coughing up gobs of black blood before collapsing in a heap of greyish limbs. The Goddess of War yanked her weapon out of the monster’s corpse without ever breaking stride. Lunging forward, she engaged another troll.

Alas, this adversary was wilier than its companion. It saw Sif’s approach and took preemptive action. Roaring bestially, it swung at her with a rude cudgel, forcing her to dive to the side. Sif rolled twice on the turf, avoiding the troll’s attack, and jumped to her feet. She feinted forward with her blade before spinning to catch the troll on his off-hand. The monster barely stepped out of the way of the sword’s keen edge, throwing Sif off balance. She stumbled, and the troll’s fist connected with her ribcage. She flew backwards a dozen yards before falling to the earth. Panting, she regained her breath and sat up.

In the distance, the Warriors Three were fending off a pair of trolls. Fandral had drawn his bow, while Hogun and Volstagg fought with spears. They were holding their own, although the trolls got in not a few hits on their Asgardian enemies. Off to the left, Loki was dueling a troll of his own, taunting the beast with illusions and enchanted darts. To the right, Thor was managing three trolls single-handed. As Sif watched, he knocked one to the ground with a mighty swing of his hammer. He moved to finish the monster off with a blow to the head, but the other two trolls were quick to take advantage of his preoccupation. They raised their clubs high in the air, ready to crush the God of Thunder. Sif opened her mouth to scream a warning.

Before she could speak the words, Thor dove to the side and the trolls’ clubs buried themselves harmlessly in the soil. The injured troll righted itself, coming shakily to its feet and picking up the tree trunk it had been using as a weapon. Thor crouched defensively, ducking and parrying to ward off the maelstrom of attacks now directly towards him by the infuriated trolls. His face was twisted with anger, his eyes bright with concentration. He barely managed to dance out of the way of the punishing hits aimed at his head and body. Every muscle was taut with nervous energy, every sinew stretched to the point of snapping. His gaze flickered back and forth between his three opponents, trying to track all of them and anticipate their moves. Sif believed in no one so much as she believed in the Crown Prince, but even she could tell that he was barely holding on.

Suddenly, Loki materialized behind Thor, looking over his brother’s shoulder towards the oncoming trolls. For a moment Sif felt the beginnings of relief; surely Loki had come to aid his brother in his unmatched fight. Yet, it seemed she was wrong. The God of Mischief made no move to attack the trolls. He only leaned forward, whispering something rapidly into Thor’s ear. The effect on the God of Thunder was instantaneous and profound. His skin flushed crimson and he snarled incoherently, spinning to face Loki. However, the Lie Smith had already disappeared, reappearing an instant later on the other end of the field to resume his fight with an exceptionally perplexed troll. Sif, having finally regained her feet, was about to run to Thor’s assistance herself, but was compelled to lunge to the left as her own troll swung at her.

Jumping up, she slashed at the monster with her sword. The creature swatted her blade away and lashed out with its cudgel. She parried the attack mechanically, her mind on Loki’s unforgivable behavior. What had the Trickster been thinking, acting as he had? He could have helped Thor, destroyed one of the trolls with a wave of his hand, and yet he had not. What’s more, he had deliberately distracted Thor at a crucial moment. Sif could easily imagine what his whispered message had contained. Loki had always loved to tease his brother, but that childish habit had taken on a shocking level of malevolence after Thor had been named Crown Prince of Asgard. Loki had undoubtedly seized the chance to taunt Thor both for the sheer joy of mocking him and for the opportunity to put him off balance in the midst of battle. Loki had always been jealous of his sibling’s fighting prowess, and especially of the glory it brought the God of Thunder. The depth of Loki’s treachery made Sif’s stomach turn.

As she pivoted to dodge her adversary’s attack, she saw Loki teleport to Thor’s side once more. The Silvertongue murmured in his brother’s ear and vanished. The effect this had on Thor was even more striking than it had been before. Growling, the God of Thunder reached out with his free hand, apparently intending to seize his impudent sibling’s arm, but Loki was already gone. Thor gritted his teeth in rage, his face achieving an even deeper shade of scarlet. He swung at the trolls with renewed fervor, forcing them to retreat. Sif was pleased her leader had retaken the offensive, although she still wanted nothing better than to bury her sword in Loki’s chest. That man would be the doom of them all, someday.

Taking heart as the Warriors Three felled a troll with a spear to the heart, Sif picked up the tempo of her own duel. She scored a few hits, and black blood began to stream from a series of gashes on the troll’s flanks. However, the pain seemed only to infuriate it, causing it to fight with greater power. Sif danced to the side just in time to see Loki teleport onto the shoulders of his own troll and stab it through the eye. The creature stumbled to its knees and keeled over. As Sif expected, Loki returned to Thor before the monster hit the ground. The Trickster stood back-to-back with his brother, hurling shards of magical ice at one of the trolls that had circled around Thor to attack from behind. As the two Asgardians fought off the three trolls, their backs never once separating, Loki kept up a constant stream of hushed taunts. His thin lips were curled with devilish pleasure, his emerald eyes gleaming with wicked delight. Thor, on the other hand, was growing ever more enraged. He swung at the trolls with reckless abandon, his attacks growing ever more random. Despite his obvious distraction, his swings were stronger than ever. Even above the din of battle, Sif could hear the piercing whistle as Mjolnir split the air. She had never seen Thor like this before, and it scared her.

Eager to help her leader, Sif drove her sword towards her own troll’s body. Already set off-balance by her previous stab, the creature could not block her attack in time. Sif’s blade plunged into the monster’s abdomen. She tore it back out with a scream, rupturing the troll’s stomach and intestines. It shrieked in pain and collapsed, clutching its torn belly. At the same moment, Fandral sent an arrow through the skull of the other troll. The only monsters remaining were those fighting the royal siblings. Loki’s lips were moving faster than ever now, whispering who knew what torment into Thor’s ear. The God of Thunder’s eyes were wide and frenzied with unspeakable emotion. Just as Sif stepped forward to go to the Crown Prince’s aid, Loki’s tirade came to an end. He pivoted abruptly on his heal, murmuring some final, poisonous word directly into Thor’s ear. Thor howled in rage, raising his hammer to the sky. As he screamed, bolts of lightning streamed down upon the remaining trolls, incinerating them.

As the sudden storm clouds that had condensed above Thor cleared, the Warriors Three ran forward to clap their leader on the back. “I had no idea you could do that, my prince!” Volstagg said to Thor, who looked drained. “We could have used that lightning much earlier in the fight!”

“I didn’t know I could do it, either,” Thor admitted weakly, shrugging out of Fandral’s embrace. “It just… came to me.”

“That was most impressive, my prince,” Sif added, kneeling before Thor. “More glory than Asgard has known in a hundred years shall surely come to your name for what you’ve done today.”

Thor smiled faintly and turned away.

“So, when shall we return home?” Hogun asked, glancing about. “Should we check on the elves?”

Fandral shook his head. “They will return to the village when they see the trolls are gone. There is no need for us to further intervene.”

Sif nodded. “Indeed. Technically our mandate to protect the Nine Realms does not permit us to interfere in local affairs such as this one. I doubt the elves will complain, but I still think we should be gone as soon as possible.”

“And the sooner we are home, the sooner we can feast!” Volstagg guffawed. “Come now, let us call to Heimdall to open the Bifrost and return us home. Thor, would you do the honors?”

Thor did not respond. Sif and the Warriors Three looked around for a moment, and realized both Thor and Loki had disappeared.

“Blast!” Fandral muttered. “How much do you want to bet this has something to do with that worm, the Trickster?”

“Aye, Loki’s at fault, don’t doubt it,” Volstagg replied bitterly. “He’s probably spirited Thor away with that blasted magic of his to make sure our Crown Prince does not receive the glory of this day. Did you see how Loki baited Thor, all through the fight? It was almost like the damned Silvertongue wanted Thor to die.”

“I don’t think Loki kidnapped Thor,” Sif said. “He’s not that brave. Thor has probably taken him aside to chastise him thoroughly for that little display earlier. Loki needs to be shown once and for all who rules Asgard.” She looked up at the sky, which was edging towards twilight. “Still, we should probably search for them. We do need to be returning to Asgard, and Thor can discipline his brother just as well there as here.”

The four warriors set off in opposite directions to look for the missing brothers. Sif went back towards the ridge overlooking the valley. As she picked her way over rubble and between rocky outcroppings, she heard hushed, arguing voices. She slowed. She was not particularly eager to interrupt a family quarrel. Getting in Thor’s way was never good for one's health, particularly when he was in a mood like this. As she approached a high wall of natural granite, she realized the two brothers were standing behind it. She glanced around the corner, and then ducked her head back immediately. In that instant, she saw Loki with his back pressed up against the rock face. Thor stood before him, the God of Thunder’s blue eyes alive with heat.

“What were you doing out there?” Thor growled. “Battle is no place for such words!”

“Brother…” Loki said pleadingly. His words were cut off by a sudden thud, which Sif was fairly certain was the sound of Loki’s body being shoved against the rock. The Trickster moaned, and Sif grinned. Thor must have punched him as punishment for his insubordination. Sif slipped away back down the broken terrain. Thor and Loki could follow when they wanted. She was not going to interrupt Thor’s vengeance on his impudent brother.

Loki’s lips smiled beneath Thor’s. As the God of Thunder’s fingers began to twine in his hair, Loki pulled his head back and laughed.

“What?” Thor asked, shocked. “Don’t you want to…?”

“Of course,” Loki smirked. “I was merely laughing at your friend Sif. She saw us.”

“What?” Thor cried, turning. “How will we explain…”

Loki put a finger to his brother’s lips. “Don’t worry. She merely saw the two of us talking. In fact, if I am not wrong, and I am so rarely wrong, she has radically misinterpreted what she witnessed today. She believes you are punishing me.”

“For what?” Thor asked, wide-eyed. “Why would I be punishing you?”

Loki’s lips curled in a crooked grin that made Thor’s heart beat faster. “Because she thinks I was taunting you today.” Loki reached out and grabbed a handful of Thor’s hair, pulling his head back. “When actually,” the Silvertongue whispered against Thor’s throat, “I was turning you on.”

Thor crushed Loki’s lips against his own. “That’s something you’re very good at,” the God of Thunder murmured against Loki’s lips. “Although you do so at very inopportune times.”

Loki smiled and deepened the kiss. “If I didn’t, it wouldn’t be mischief.”


End file.
